Palestinians fight for their lives and their stolen lands

[Anthea]

Martyrs in ongoing Israeli attacks
amid mass starvation in Gaza

Continued Israeli attacks kill civilians across Gaza amid the deepening famine, as overwhelmed hospitals report nearly 1,000 martyrs while seeking aid

Several Palestinians were martyred and others injured on Monday as the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip continued unabated, striking multiple areas across the enclave amid worsening humanitarian conditions.

In the latest attack, an Israeli drone strike targeted al-Nazla Roundabout in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, killing two civilians and wounding several others. In western Gaza City, Israeli warplanes bombed a tent sheltering displaced people in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

Further south, in the central Gaza Strip, two civilians were martyred by Israeli shelling south of Deir al-Balah and were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported ongoing gunfire from occupation forces in the same region, along with intermittent aerial bombardments.

Continued airstrikes in South Gaza

In the southern part of the enclave, five civilians were martyred and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike targeting a tent belonging to the Abu Ta’ima family in the al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, according to local sources.

As the Israeli aggression on Gaza continues, attacks are increasingly targeting areas where displaced civilians have gathered.

Amid the escalating strikes, medical infrastructure across Gaza is collapsing. That said, the director of al-Shifa Medical Complex, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, issued a warning to Palestinians, urging them not to risk death by seeking aid, despite the hunger.

Abu Salmiya confirmed that al-Shifa Hospital is overcrowded, stating, "We are no longer able to deal with the wounded in the emergency rooms." Hospitals are now filled beyond capacity with martyrs and injured civilians, as medical staff struggle to respond to the continuous influx of casualties, he explained.

Famine tightens grip as aid Victims near 1,000

The Gaza humanitarian crisis has escalated into full-scale famine under the tightening siege, while the occupation continues to prevent the entry of aid, food, and medical supplies, targeting civilians waiting for relief.

The Government Media Office in Gaza reported that the number of civilians martyred while seeking aid has reached 995, with 6,011 wounded and 45 missing. The office warned that Gaza is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe as the genocide, blockade, and mass starvation persist.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that 86 people, including 76 children, died from hunger and malnutrition on Sunday alone. Eighteen of those deaths were recorded within the last 24 hours.

The Gaza famine and Israeli attacks have created a dire and unsustainable reality. Since October 7, 2023, "Israel" has continued its aggression on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the martyrdom of 58,895 Palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women, and the injury of 140,980 others, according to a preliminary toll.

Many victims remain under the rubble or lying in the streets, unreachable by ambulance and rescue crews due to the continued bombardment and siege. As international warnings grow louder, Gaza sinks further into a humanitarian abyss.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... ation-in-g

[Anthea]

Who was behind the
ban on Palestine Action?

David Miller investigates the Zionist-led campaign behind the UK’s unprecedented ban on Palestine Action, exposing deep ties to British intelligence, Israeli influence operations, and known lobbyists and spies like Catherine Perez-Shakdam

Catherine Perez-Shakdam is a bloodthirsty genocidal Zionist
and continues to work as an intelligence asset of the Zionist regime

The British government's attempt to ban Palestine Action is fronted by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary. As has been widely noted, she is a serial recipient of Zionist lobby largesse, being in receipt of over £300,000 from Zionist connected individuals and groups in the last three years alone.

She admits to taking £210,000 from Gary Lubner, the South African Zionist whose family firm profited from the Apartheid regime there, and was involved in sanctions busting. She also received over £100,000 from Labour Together, a vehicle for arch Zionist influencer Trevor Chinn, who has extraordinary access to the Labour government.

But even though she and the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, are very firmly in the pocket of the Zionists, it still takes pressure from outside Parliament to get the government to enact the ever more extreme policies desired by the Zionists

In this case, the credit for exerting that successful pressure has been claimed by a group called We Believe in Israel. This was led by the famously non-Jewish arms industry lobbyist and Luke Akehurst until he was parachuted into a safe Labour seat at the last UK election. The group was formed from the main Zionist regime propaganda group in the UK: BICOM, in which the aforementioned Trevor Chinn plays a leading role.

Israel launched a campaign to proscribe Palestine Action
in June 2025, and within a month was successful

The Home Secretary rushed the order through Parliament, laying the draft order on Monday, June 30, and holding the votes on Wednesday, July 2, so that the order could come into effect the following Friday.

There was no reference to links to Hamas in Cooper’s statement, but she did mention Palestine Action as threatening infrastructure supporting Ukraine and NATO, echoing language in We Believe in Israel’s report.

The report stated: “In July 2022, [Palestine Action] was investigated under counter-terrorism protocols following intelligence suggesting contact between some of its members and individuals linked to Hamas-aligned networks abroad (see: Metropolitan Police briefing, classified).”

It is not clear how or why We Believe in Israel accessed classified documents.

On June 21, We Believe in Israel posted on X:

“Behind Palestine Action’s theatre of resistance stands a darker puppeteer: the [Iranian] Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.” The only evidence provided was that the IRGC vocabulary “echoes in Palestine Action’s slogans”.

https://t.co/8GtHv0k9sB
— We Believe in Israel (@WeBelieveIsrael) June 21, 2025

This was a transparent attempt to show that the obviously non-terrorist Palestine Action is connected to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which it is not. It’s also an attempt to encourage both the proscription of the IRGC in the UK, even though the IRGC is not organised in the UK. In reality, this would be a hostile escalation against British Shia Muslims who would be asserted to have IRGC connections via the usual campaigns of misinformation and deception.

Two days later, The Times published anonymous briefings from Home Office officials who claimed to be suspicious of the group’s funding by the Islamic Republic “via proxies… given that their objectives are aligned.” This suggests a wholesale alignment of at least sections of the national security apparatus with the Zionist regime.

But who was directing the campaign by We Believe in Israel? Meet alleged
Israeli spy Catherine Perez Shakdam, the director of the lobby group

Born into a secular French Jewish family, she married a Yemeni man and converted to Sunni Islam. After the marriage ended, she converted to Shia Islam and began a process she later referred to as “infiltration”, gaining jobs with independent media like MintPress and connections with RT and PressTV. She travelled to Iran and proceeded to infiltrate leading circles of the Islamic Republic and the IRGC.

She herself refers to her “decade-long undercover investigation” of the Islamic Republic. What was she doing there?

She reportedly “operated in silence. … she took photographs, recorded conversations, and mapped out the hidden veins of Iran’s most sensitive state secrets, from nuclear facilities and scientific personnel to the covert movements of Revolutionary Guard commanders.” Key IRGC commanders were constantly moved for protection.

But every time "Israel" struck…as if guided by an insider…The Iranian leadership began to suspect…someone had sold them out. And that someone was Catherine.

It is not clear what role her spying played in the recent attacks on the Islamic Republic by the Zionists, but some sources have claimed it was significant.

Shakdam came out as a spy in a blog post for the Times of Israel in November 2021.

Though presenting her spy mission as if it was unconnected to the Mossad, she concedes that, prior to her engagement with Iran, she worked for Wikistrat.

Founded in "Israel" in 2010 and technically a private company, its upper ranks are filled with former Israeli government intelligence officers. Chief amongst them is co-founder Elad Schaffer, whose LinkedIn page noted that he was head of an intelligence desk for an unnamed Israeli government agency. But the logo that is displayed next to the admission is that of Unit 8200 of the IDF Military Intelligence Division, which is the signals intelligence agency of the Zionist regime.

As Ken Klippenstein revealed back in 2016:

But despite the firm’s purported commitment to “transparent, open-source methodologies,” the documents provided to The Daily Beast show something different: that the company exploits “in country… informants” as sources. Wikistrat’s “About” page includes mention of “on-the-ground collection.”

And according to internal Wikistrat documents marked “highly confidential and sensitive material,” 74 percent of the firm’s revenue came from clients that were foreign governments.

Though Wikistrat’s website lists its location as Washington, Kadtke said the company was run out of "Israel" the entire time he worked there.

A former Wikistrat employee confirmed the company was run out of Tel Aviv, with the D.C. office only handling sales and business development, he said. “He knew a whole lot of people there [in Israel]. One of his connections was the former head of the [Israeli] intelligence directorate, Amos Yadlin.” In fact, each of Wikistrat’s principals listed Tel Aviv as their address in a 2015 copy of Wikistrat’s Virginia business license.

Co-founder of Wikistrat, Joel Zamel, reportedly met with Trump advisers in January 2017, including Steve Bannon. Leaked documents from those meetings “show that participants in the meetings discussed a multi-pronged strategy for eroding, and eventually ending, the current Iranian regime, including economic, information, and military tactics for weakening the Tehran government.”

Presumably, Shakdam was part of that operation. It has been widely reported, as Alan MacLeod notes, “that slain Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was also secretly working for Wikistrat just before his assassination”, an indication of the perhaps routine use of journalistic cover by Wikistrat.

When was Shakdam at Wikistrat? Public sources indicate she was working there in 2013. In 2014, she noted that she had been there for seven years, which seems not to match her later characterisation of her involvement there as “minimal”. Other sources say she worked at the “Israeli” office of the firm. In 2011, while connected to Wikistrat, she worked for a Saudi site close to the ruling monarchy. She says that the first time she was invited to Iran was in 2015 or 2016.

Next Century Foundation for Peace

Given her relations with anti-Iranian groups like Wikistrat and al Majalla, it seems that her cover was not very deep. This impression is reinforced by the fact - undisclosed until now - that during the period she was allegedly a hijab wearing supporter of the Axis of Resistance, she was also producing work for a British charity called the Next Century Foundation for Peace. This is a Zionist dialogue-type charity set up to encourage back channel discussions with the Palestinian resistance. Amongst its leading lights are key well embedded Zionist activists like Lord David Alliance, Felix Posen and Lord Andrew Stone.

She produced pieces for them from March 2019 onwards, in her Axis persona, giving an affiliation at the Baghdad based Al Bayan Centre for Planning & Studies. She changed her affiliation on the site when she joined the Islamophobic Henry Jackson Society in June 2022.

The mysterious Forum for Foreign Relations

But it is not only We Believe in Israel behind the campaign to ban Palestine Action. Other groups were involved. We Believe in Israel specifically mentioned the Forum for Foreign Affairs. Its “meticulous research and strategic analysis were instrumental,” they said.

What is the Forum? It appears to be a consultancy but is not registered as a company or charity, thus shrouding its operations in mystery. Its Executive Director is none other than the same Catherine Perez-Shakdam. Why is she wearing two hats?

A clue is in the involvement of the shadowy and secretive Zionist businessman David Abrahams. He famously passed over half a million in cash through intermediaries to the Labour Party in order to evade disclosure rules. He is listed as a “special advisor” on the Forum website

Abrahams has himself undertaken covert missions which have involved secret talks with the PLO and then later with Hamas.

Catherine Perez-Shakdam is a bloodthirsty genocidal Zionist and
continues to work as an intelligence asset of the Zionist regime

https://english.almayadeen.net/articles ... ine-action

[Anthea]

One in five children in Gaza is malnourished

The UN says the hunger crisis in Gaza 'has never been so dire'

One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished and cases are increasing every day, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) says.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Unrwa Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini cited a colleague telling him: "People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses."

More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have
also warned of mass starvation - pressing for governments to take action

Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, says there is no siege and blames Hamas for any cases of malnutrition.

Tahani Shehada, an aid worker, said her baby has never eaten fresh fruit

The UN, however, has warned that the level of aid getting into Gaza is "a trickle" and the hunger crisis in the territory "has never been so dire".

In his statement on Thursday, Lazzarini said "more than 100 people, the vast majority of them children, have reportedly died of hunger".

"Most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying if they don't get the treatment they urgently need," he added, pleading for Israel to "allow humanitarian partners to bring unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza".

On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said a large proportion of the population of Gaza was "starving".

"I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation - and it's man-made," the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said.

In northern Gaza, Hanaa Almadhoun, 40, said local markets are often without food and other supplies.

"If they do exist then they come at exorbitant prices that no ordinary person can afford," she told the BBC over WhatsApp.

She said flour was expensive and difficult to secure, and that people have sold "gold and personal belongings" to afford it.

The mother-of-three said "every new day brings a new challenge" as people search for "something edible".

"With my own eyes, I've seen children rummaging through the garbage in search of food scraps," she added.

During a visit to Israeli troops in Gaza on Wednesday, Israel's President Isaac Herzog insisted his country was providing humanitarian aid "according to international law".

But Tahani Shehada, an aid worker in Gaza, said people "are just trying to survive hour-by-hour".

"Even simple things like cooking [and] taking a shower have become luxuries," she said.

"I have a baby. He's eight months old. He doesn't know what fresh fruit tastes like," she added.

Israel stopped aid deliveries to Gaza in early March following a two-month ceasefire. The blockade was partially eased after nearly two months, but food, fuel and medicine shortages worsened.

Israel, with the US, established a new aid system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

According to the UN human rights office, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get food aid over the past two months.

It says at least 766 of them have been killed in the vicinity of one of the GHF's four distribution centres, which are operated by US private security contractors and are located inside Israeli military zones.

Another 288 people have been reported killed near UN and other aid convoys.

Israel has accused Hamas of instigating the chaos near the aid sites. It says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians.

Najah, a 19-year-old widow sheltering in a hospital in Gaza, said she fears she would "get shot" if she travelled to aid distribution site.

"I hope they bring us something to eat and drink. We die of hunger with nothing to eat or drink. We live in tents. We are finished off," Najah told the BBC.

A doctor working in Gaza with a UK medical charity, Dr Aseel, said Gaza was not close to famine, but already "living it".

"My husband went once [to an aid distribution point] and twice and then got shot and that was it," she said.

"If we are to die from hunger, let it be. The path to aid is the path to death."

Abu Alaa, a market seller in Gaza, said he and his children "go to bed hungry every night".

"We are not alive. We are dead. We are pleading with the whole world to intervene and save us," he added.

Walaa Fathi, who is eight months pregnant with her third child, said Gazans are "experiencing a catastrophe and a famine that no one could have imagined".

"I hope that my baby stays in my womb and I don't have to give birth in these difficult circumstances," she told the BBC from Deir al-Balah.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyxy5k70rzo

[Anthea]

Third of people in Gaza not eating for days

International concern has risen this week with warnings that starvation has gripped Gaza

Almost one in three people in Gaza are going days without eating, the UN's food aid programme has warned.

"Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment," the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement to news agency AFP.

Warnings of starvation in Gaza have intensified this week. Nine more people died of malnutrition on Friday, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry - bringing the total such deaths since the war began to 122.

Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, says there is no restriction on aid getting into the territory and blames Hamas for any malnutrition.

An Israeli security official said on Friday that airdrops of aid into Gaza could be allowed in the coming days - something aid agencies have previously cautioned is an inefficient way to get supplies into Gaza.

While local media reported the United Arab Emirates and Jordan would carry out the latest drops, a senior Jordanian official told the BBC that its military was yet to receive permission from Israel to do so

The UN has described the move as a "distraction to inaction" by the Israeli government.

The move came amid mounting international concern about humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

On Friday, Germany, France and the UK called on Israel to "immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid" into the territory.

In a joint statement, they called for an immediate end to the "humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza," and to the war itself, adding that Israel must "uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law".

"Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable," read the statement.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he could not "explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community - the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity".

Addressing the Amnesty International global assembly, he said more than 1,000 Palestinians had been killed while trying to access food since 27 May - when the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began distributing supplies as an alternative to the UN-led system.
Media caption,

'I'm so tired': Mother of starving Gazan baby speaks to BBC

A US security contractor who worked for the GHF in May and June 2025 told the BBC on Friday that he had "without question… witnessed war crimes" during that time.

Anthony Aguilar said he saw the IDF and US contractors using live ammunition,
artillery, mortar rounds, and tank fire on civilians at food distribution sites

The retired soldier said: "In my entire career, I have never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population until I was in Gaza at the hands of the IDF and US contractors."

In its response, the GHF said the claims - which came from "a disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct a month ago" - were "categorically false".

Meanwhile, the future of talks to secure a new ceasefire and hostage-release deal remains uncertain, after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams from Qatar.

US President Donald Trump said Hamas "didn't really want to make a deal".

"I think they want to die," he said.

Hamas has expressed surprise about the US remarks.

A senior Hamas official also told the BBC's Gaza correspondent that mediators had informed the group negotiations had not collapsed, and said the Israeli delegation was expected to return to Doha next week.

Israel launched a war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 59,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the group to release its remaining Israeli hostages.

Although the blockade was partially eased after almost two months amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, the shortages of food, medicine and fuel have worsened.

Most of Gaza's population has been displaced multiple times and more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed.

On Thursday, France announced it would official recognise a Palestinian state in September - a move which angered Israel and its main ally, the US.

A day later, more than a third of UK MPs signed a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling for the UK to follow suit.

But Israeli supporter Sir Keir indicated such a move would not be imminent - it would have to be part of a "wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution" - a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgjg81qqwvo

[Anthea]

phpBB [video]

Direct Link:

https://youtu.be/ACgwr2Nj_GQ?si=FucrD7WC5xaNutCO

Strongly suggest you watch:

Jon Snow's videos on Palestine from 10 years ago

and

Aljazeeraenglish:

https://youtu.be/t-0zrQZWwDE?si=EzU6X8yEMnX-rESS

[Anthea]

IOF shoot at Gaza residents like
game of target practice

A British doctor returning from Gaza describes Israeli forces targeting Palestinians with deadly precision

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) are targeting Palestinians in Gaza with disturbing precision, “almost like a game of target practice,” according to British doctor Nick Maynard, who recently returned from a four-week medical mission in the besieged enclave, Anadolu reported.

In an interview for Sky News, Maynard, who worked at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, described a dire humanitarian situation, saying medics are struggling to care for malnourished children amid extreme shortages of food and medical supplies.

“I met several doctors who had cartons of formula feed in their luggage," he said, adding, "and they were all confiscated by the Israeli border guards. Nothing else got confiscated, just the formula feed.”

Maynard, a longtime volunteer who has traveled to Gaza for 15 years and made three trips since October 7, 2023, also revealed that four premature babies died during his first two weeks at the hospital.

The physician warned of "many, many more deaths unless the Israelis allow proper food to get in there," describing how people he had known for years were unrecognizable to him.

“Two colleagues had lost 20 kg and 30 kg, respectively. They were shells; they’re all hungry,” he recalled, describing how medical staff push through exhausting shifts only to return to tents with no food.

He also recounted harrowing scenes at aid distribution points, where, he said, Israeli soldiers were firing at civilians "almost like a game of target practice," a claim Israeli forces have denied, despite mounting evidence and reports from international observers.

Meanwhile, the toll of the Israeli genocide in Gaza has surged to 59,676 Palestinians killed and 143,965 others injured.

The Israeli attacks since March 18, 2025, have added significantly to this toll, with 8,527 martyrs and 31,924 injuries recorded during this period alone.

Last October, American physicians recounted distressing tales and a pattern they witnessed while operating in Gaza: children being shot in the head, The New York Times reported.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... t-practice

[Anthea]

Israel has killed over 300 UN staffers

More than 300 UN staff have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, according to Volker Turk, who highlights a deepening humanitarian crisis marked by hunger, blocked aid, and rising civilian casualties

"According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured since 7 October – some ten percent of the entire population.

And we can never forget that more than 300 of our own colleagues have been killed by Israel’s military action," Turk stated on Sunday.

Turk warns of escalating Gaza humanitarian crisis

Turk further emphasized that since May, over 1,000 Palestinians have been
killed while attempting to access food for themselves and their families

He criticized the current aid efforts, saying, "Chaotic, militarized distribution centres run by the US- and Israeli-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are failing utterly to deliver humanitarian aid at the scope and scale needed."

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, massacres at the so-called "aid sites" resume unabated, with hospitals receiving the bodies of 11 starved aid seekers and more than 36 injuries over the past 24 hours. The cumulative death toll of the aid massacres has now reached 1,132 martyrs and 7,521 injuries.

Malnutrition soars among children and mothers

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization reported a steep increase in malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza. This includes 21 confirmed deaths of children under the age of five in 2025 alone. Acute malnutrition now affects more than 10% of the population, while over 20% of pregnant and breastfeeding women suffer from moderate to severe malnutrition, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Ghebreyesus highlighted that the worsening hunger crisis is directly linked to the halt of humanitarian supplies and persistent restrictions on their delivery.

Over the past 24 hours, hospitals in the Gaza Strip have reported six new deaths from famine and malnutrition, including two children. This brings the total number of deaths linked to hunger and malnutrition in Gaza to 133, among them 87 children.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... since-2023

[Anthea]

Settlers raid Al-Aqsa amid surging
violence in occupied West Bank

Israeli settlers storm the al-Aqsa Mosque amid rising attacks on Palestinian towns across the occupied West Bank under heavy military protection

Israeli settlers continue to escalate their provocations in the occupied West Bank, raiding al-Aqsa Mosque yet again while intensifying their attacks on Palestinian villages in the territory, amid widespread raids and arrests by the IOF.

Under the protection of occupation forces, Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of the al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday in successive groups, with local sources reporting that dozens performed Talmudic rituals inside the compound.

Under heavy police protection, Israeli settlers forced their way into the courtyards of the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied al-Quds on July 27, with local sources reporting that dozens of settlers entered the holy site in organized groups, conducting provocative tours and performing religious rituals while heavily guarded by Israeli occupation forces.

Palestinian authorities reported that during the first three months of 2025, more than 13,000 Israeli settlers entered the al-Aqsa Mosque compound under armed escort, with these protected incursions happening nearly every day and systematically violating the holy site's sanctity.

In May 2025, the situation escalated when more than 1,500 settlers, including Israeli government ministers and Knesset members, participated in a single mass violation during the controversial "Flag March" event. In June, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound experienced over 25 separate incursions.

Widespread arrests, raids continue

Early on Monday morning, settlers launched an attack on the town of Taybeh, located east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to two vehicles and spray-painting racist and threatening graffiti on the walls of homes.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by vehicles from the occupation's intelligence agency, raided the town of Silwan, south of the al-Aqsa Mosque, according to local sources.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces continued their arrest campaign targeting Palestinians across multiple areas of the West Bank, detaining two Palestinians from al-Khalil Governorate in the southern West Bank along with three Palestinian youths from the town of Azzun east of Qalqilya after raiding and searching their homes.

Israeli forces also detained three Palestinians from the city of al-Bireh and the nearby village of al-Mazra'a al-Gharbiya, northwest of Ramallah in the West Bank, as well as four individuals from Beit Lahm.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... upied-west

[Anthea]

IOF kill Palestinian youth in
West Bank settler attacks intensify

Israeli occupation forces kill Muhammad al-Jamal in al-Khalil as settler attacks escalate in Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley, amid renewed incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel continues to aggress on the West Bank and its Palestinian residents, with Israeli occupation forces killing and wounding several people, while Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinian villages.

The Palestinian Health Ministry announced on Monday evening that a Palestinian youth, Muhammad al-Jamal, was shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces at the northern entrance to al-Khalil, known as Ras al-Jura. Al-Jamal's body was withheld by the Israeli forces.

Earlier, according to WAFA, security and local sources said that the IOF forces stationed at a checkpoint established at the entrance opened direct fire at the young man and prevented ambulances and rescue teams from reaching him.
Israeli settler violence, al-Aqsa raids continue

According to a local source cited by WAFA, two Palestinians were injured Monday evening when
Israeli settlers attacked the village of Umm al-Khair in Masafer Yatta, located south of al-Khalil

In detail, anti-colonial settlements activist Osama Makhamreh told WAFA that Israeli settlers attacked residents while they were on their land near their homes, opening fire and injuring one man with live bullets before the Israeli forces took the wounded man to an unknown destination.

Another resident was beaten by a settler and injured, prompting Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crews to transfer them to Yatta Governmental Hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian shepherds in the al-Hamma area of the northern Jordan Valley on Monday evening, assaulting them with sticks and stones while attempting to steal their livestock.

The northern Jordan Valley has seen daily attacks by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinian homes and residents, including property destruction, theft, and violent pursuit of shepherds in grazing areas along with their livestock.

On Monday, under the protection of Israeli forces, groups of settlers successively stormed the courtyards of the al-Aqsa Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals on its premises.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... ttacks-int

[Anthea]

Israel escalates West Bank raids

Israel detains 30 Palestinians in mass West Bank raids, re-arrests freed prisoners, storms Bedouin areas after activist’s killing in Khirbet Umm al-Khair

The Israeli occupation has intensified its military raids and detention campaigns across the occupied West Bank, arresting at least 30 Palestinians between Monday night and Tuesday. The arrests are part of a broader policy of collective punishment and systematic retaliation against Palestinian civilians.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club and the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, the latest campaign targeted several areas, with a focus on al-Fawwar refugee camp in the al-Khalil governorate. Additional arrests and field interrogations were carried out across Ramallah, Beit Lahm, Nablus, Tubas, Salfit, Tulkarm, and Qalqilya.

Among those detained were three recently released prisoners from Qalqilya: Samih al-Shubaki, Saed al-Fayed, and Saeed Diab, all of whom had been freed earlier this year as part of a ceasefire deal. Their re-arrest, the two organizations stressed, is a clear violation of the agreement and reflects a deliberate Israeli policy of targeting freed detainees.

Mass arrests top 18,000 since start of West Bank aggression

The latest wave brings the total number of arrests in the West Bank, including occupied al-Quds, to over 18,000 since the beginning of the current Israeli assault, not counting the thousands arrested in Gaza, many of whom were later released or remain missing.

The occupation forces continue to conduct nightly incursions, often accompanied by live fire, destruction of property, and the use of detainees as human shields. Palestinian families regularly report violent home invasions, physical abuse, and on-site interrogations.

In a related development, occupation troops stormed al-Khader, south of Beit Lahm, on Tuesday evening. They blocked the main road between the town and its gate, raided multiple homes belonging to the Salah family, and vandalized personal belongings. No arrests were reported during the raid.

Settlement expansion, forced displacement accelerate

Elsewhere in the Al-Khalil governorate, Israeli forces raided the funeral tent of Palestinian teacher and rights activist Awdah Hathaleen in Khirbet Umm al-Khair, southeast of Yatta. They attacked mourners and declared the area a closed military zone, in what residents see as part of a sustained campaign against Bedouin communities in Masafer Yatta.

Hathaleen was martyred by a settler's gunfire while attempting to prevent the destruction of Palestinian land in the area, a killing rights groups have labeled part of the systematic targeting of Palestinian activists.

Under the protection of heavily armed occupation forces, Israeli settlers have resumed illegal excavation works in Khirbet Umm al-Khair, aiming to expand the “Karmiel” settlement built on Palestinian land. Since the start of the year, the Bedouin village has witnessed a sharp uptick in settler violence, home demolitions, and denial of access to water sources and grazing lands.

Netanyahu, Smotrich seeking further annexation

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to move forward with "annexing" the occupied West Bank, declaring there is "no more appropriate time" to apply full "Israeli sovereignty" over the territory.

Speaking before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria, Smotrich framed the move as a "historic correction" to what he called the 2005 “mistake” of "Israel’s" unilateral withdrawal from Gaza’s Gush Katif settlement bloc. He emphasized the "annexation’s political, security, economic, and moral significance,” describing it as essential to the Zionist project.

“We’re advancing in two stages,” Smotrich explained. “First, de facto sovereignty, through administrative and cognitive processes to normalize settlement. Second, internal institutional changes, so that when the formal act is carried out, the system will be ready. We’ve done the groundwork—legally and administratively. We’re ready to press the button.”

In a direct appeal to Netanyahu, Smotrich stressed, “We have full support from the US administration—I say this from knowledge. The sky will not fall.” He called on the prime minister to act decisively, invoking Jewish historical destiny and urging him to convene the government to approve annexation.

Netanyahu weighs partial Gaza annexation to appease Smotrich

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly preparing to propose a "phased annexation" of parts of the Gaza Strip to the Security and Political Cabinet, in a bid to placate far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and safeguard his fragile governing coalition, Haaretz reported Monday evening.

Under the plan, Hamas would be given a brief window to accept a ceasefire deal. Should the group refuse, "Israel" would initiate a step-by-step "annexation of Gaza territory," starting with areas along the Strip’s eastern border, the so-called "internal buffer zone" maintained by Israeli occupation forces. The process would then expand northward, particularly targeting zones near Sderot and Askalan, with the ultimate aim of "annexing Gaza" in its entirety.

The proposal is expected to follow Netanyahu’s decision to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, a move opposed by Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party. Sources cited by Haaretz suggest the "annexation plan" is part of a calculated balancing act by Netanyahu, offering concessions on aid while pushing forward with territorial expansion to retain far-right support.

During closed-door discussions with ministers, Netanyahu reportedly stated the "phased annexation plan" had received a "green light" from the administration of US President Donald Trump.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... ss-arrests

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Mural of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl murdered
by the Israeli occupation army in Gaza (Hind Rajab Foundation)

Belgium refers war crimes cases against two Israeli soldiers to ICC

Belgian authorities have referred war crimes complaints filed against two Israeli occupation soldiers to the International Criminal Court (ICC), marking a precedent-setting case in Europe.

The decision, announced by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office on July 30, follows complaints filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) earlier in July.

The legal action stems from the soldiers’ presence at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, where they were identified as members of the Israeli Givati Brigade. They had reportedly been waving their unit's flag during a performance, drawing the attention of human rights activists.

Arrest and interrogation of the Israeli soldiers

On July 21, Belgian federal police arrested the two soldiers, acting on complaints submitted just days prior, with the soldiers being questioned before being released. This marked the first instance in Europe of Israeli suspects being formally detained and interrogated over war crimes allegations in Gaza.

The arrests were made possible by Belgium’s Article 14/10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, enacted in April 2024. This law grants Belgium universal jurisdiction over international crimes, including those committed outside its territory, under treaties like the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention Against Torture.

The Hind Rajab Foundation accused the soldiers of participating in serious crimes, including genocide, arbitrary detention, torture, and the use of human shields. Evidence included social media posts allegedly showing the soldiers destroying property and posing next to a Palestinian civilian used as a shield.

Global legal actions against Israel

The referral to the ICC was made "in the interest of the proper administration of justice and in accordance with Belgium's international obligations." The ICC is already investigating possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian territories.

Last November, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Security Minister Yoav Gallant. "Israel" also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.

Human rights organizations, including Israeli ones like B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, have accused the regime of genocide, citing the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and its healthcare infrastructure.

Diplomatic fallout

The case has led to increased diplomatic tensions between Belgium and "Israel". The latter summoned a Belgian diplomat to protest the arrests, while Belgium’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting but declined to disclose further details.

Adding to the pressure, Belgian King Philippe delivered a rare public rebuke, calling the situation in Gaza "a disgrace to all of humanity."

Current status, future implications

The case files have now been formally transferred to the ICC. While the soldiers were released after questioning, their current whereabouts remain unknown. The Hind Rajab Foundation continues to urge the ICC to act swiftly and issue arrest warrants.

This unprecedented case may serve as a catalyst for broader accountability efforts in Europe. Legal experts suggest it could encourage other nations to adopt similar measures under universal jurisdiction principles.

The Hind Rajab Foundation's campaign for justice

The Hind Rajab Foundation, named after the six-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli fire in Gaza City, is at the forefront of global efforts to hold Israeli military personnel accountable for war crimes.

Since its formation in 2024, the organization has filed dozens of legal complaints in over ten countries, used social media and geolocation data to identify Israeli soldiers involved in alleged war crimes, targeted both low-level and high-ranking military personnel, and submitted a complaint to the ICC against 1,000 Israeli soldiers.

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Lana Al-Basous, a child, miraculously survived after being shot in the head by a drone-fired bullet.

Amazingly, the bullet became lodged between her scalp and skull without penetrating deeper.

phpBB [video]

Direct Link:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1507462163947897

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Two girls shot in Gaza

The BBC World Service has pieced together the stories of Layan al-Majdalawi, two, and Mira Tanboura, six, both killed in Gaza in separate incidents in November 2023, in areas where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was operating

In response to our findings, the IDF said the details of Layan and Mira's cases had been recorded and "will be examined by the competent authorities". It added: "Intentional harm to civilians, especially children, is strictly prohibited."

Layan and Mira are just two of more than 160 cases of children shot in the war in Gaza, for whom we have gathered accounts.

We found that in 95 of these cases, the child had been shot in the head or chest. In 59 of those, we obtained testimony from eyewitnesses, either directly or via human rights organisations and medics. The witnesses alleged that 57 of these children were shot by the IDF, and two were shot by Palestinians - one in celebratory gunfire and the other in a gang conflict.

The remaining 36 out of 95 cases, we have no account of what happened. Israel bans foreign reporters from entering Gaza independently, and the destruction and displacement make gathering details difficult

The International Committee of the Red Cross has told the BBC the world cannot accept as a "new normal" the type of warfare that allows so many children to be shot.

Link to Article - Video:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cjelp738zd7o

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UN chief warns of man-made famine

in Gaza, urges unrestricted aid

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the people of Gaza are enduring a “horrific humanitarian catastrophe,” blaming the famine-like conditions on the ongoing Israeli-imposed blockade and war on the besieged territory

In a post on X, Guterres cited the latest report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), confirming what he called “our worst fears”, that Gaza is on the brink of full-scale famine.

“Facts are undeniable, this is not a warning
It is a reality unfolding before our eyes.”

He stressed that the limited aid trickling into Gaza must be transformed into a massive, unrestricted humanitarian surge. “Food, water, medicine, and fuel must flow in waves, unimpeded,” he said.

Guterres also reiterated the urgent need for an immediate and lasting humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all captives, and full, unrestricted humanitarian access across Gaza.

'Only flooding Gaza with aid can stop famine'

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini echoed the UN chief’s alarm, stating that the worst-case famine scenario is already happening in Gaza, and that the disaster is entirely “man-made.”

In a separate post on X, Lazzarini said, “Gaza has reached the brink of famine, with widespread hunger and acute malnutrition.”

He emphasized that “the only way to reverse this catastrophe is to flood Gaza with massive quantities of aid.” According to Lazzarini, the UN, including UNRWA, has the logistical capacity, with over 6,000 trucks of food and medical aid ready to enter Gaza from Jordan and Egypt.

“Let us operate without restrictions, in safety and dignity.”

The dire warnings from the UN and UNRWA came in response to the latest IPC report issued Tuesday, which stated that “the worst-case scenario of famine is rapidly unfolding in Gaza.” The report cited continuous conflict, mass displacement, and extremely limited humanitarian access as driving factors.

Food access and other essential services have plummeted to “unprecedented levels,” the IPC noted, adding that recent data shows Gaza’s food consumption has reached starvation levels in most areas, with particularly acute malnutrition in Gaza City.

The IPC called for urgent international action, including a cessation of hostilities, the safe and sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid, protection of civilians and aid workers, and the restoration of commercial flows.
Israeli occupation accused of engineering famine and chaos

While the humanitarian community calls for urgent access, the Israeli occupation continues to restrict and obstruct aid into Gaza, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. On Monday, the office accused the Israeli regime of “engineering famine and deliberately fostering chaos” across the enclave.

Officials noted that only 87 trucks entered Gaza on that day, many of which were looted due to lawlessness exacerbated by Israel’s blockade and aerial surveillance.

The office described a recent massacre in northern Gaza as a “dangerous escalation.” According to their statement, Israeli forces first blocked the trucks, then targeted community forces responsible for securing the aid routes, killing 11 members. Only after the attack did the Israeli occupation allow the aid trucks in, which then fell into the hands of armed groups, under direct protection from Israeli drones and live fire.

'Air drop operations are a farce'

Khalil al-Hayya, Head of Hamas in Gaza and a member of its political bureau, demanded the immediate and dignified entry of food and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, describing it as the "true measure of whether negotiations are meaningful."

He rejected what he called the "absurd theatrics of airdropped aid operations," insisting that the suffering and blood of the Palestinian people should not become "a bargaining chip in the occupation's political games."

The Hamas leader accused the Israeli occupation of attempting to "eliminate the role of UN and local aid institutions and maintain death traps to kill our people."

Highlighting the deepening humanitarian collapse, al-Hayya said the people of Gaza feel "greatly betrayed when they see silence in the face of Gaza’s starvation, while vast capabilities sit idle." He continued, "Is it not painful for our people to witness the unlimited support to the Zionist entity while receiving no aid even to quell their hunger?"

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Hamas refuses to disarm until
Palestinian state established

Hamas has reaffirmed that it will not agree to disarm unless a sovereign Palestinian state is established, in response to one of Israel's key demands in talks about a ceasefire in Gaza

The Palestinian armed group said it was responding to remarks it attributed to US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff that Hamas had "expressed its willingness" to lay down its weapons.

I believe the ONLY way for conflict to end is for Israel to remove all illegal Israeli settlers and to give back all the land it has stolen from Palestine, also reimburse Palestinians for the destruction of their property and hand all the child murders over to an International Court

Hamas - a proscribed terror group in the US, UK and EU - said in its statement that it could not yield its right to "resistance and its weapons" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" was established

The Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) Lt Gen Eyal Zamir warned on Friday that there would be no respite in fighting in Gaza if negotiations failed to quickly secure the release of hostages being held by Hamas.

And on Saturday, the family of hostage Evyatar David issued a statement after Hamas released a video showing him shirtless and emaciated in a dimly-lit tunnel.

They accused Hamas of starving him as part of a propaganda campaign and appealed to the Israeli government and the United States to do everything possible to save him.

Lishay Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran who was kidnapped in the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, sits amid security wire during a protest in Tel Aviv

Witkoff has been visiting Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government faces mounting pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

UN agencies have warned there is man-made, mass starvation in Gaza, and have blamed Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies to the territory

Earlier on Saturday, Witkoff met in Tel Aviv with families of Israeli hostages who are still in Gaza.

Footage posted online showed the Washington negotiator being greeted with applause and pleas for help by supporters of the hostages' families as he arrived in a square that has become known for protests.

Witkoff said peace efforts should focus on ending the conflict and bringing home all the hostages, instead of what he called a partial deal.

As part of Witkoff's trip, he met Netanyahu on Thursday and on Friday he inspected a widely-criticised aid site in southern Gaza.

Latest figures from the United Nations say at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May

The majority have been killed by the Israeli military near Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution sites, the UN says.

Steve Witkoff went to the Gaza Strip on Friday to see the humanitarian situation

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 60,000 people have since been killed in Gaza, and 169 people, including 93 children, have died from malnutrition, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce35nx49reko